India, May 23 -- Brunch Editor Rachel Lopez's first job was as editor of a youth magazine called JLT (short for Just Like That. The Aughts were wild!). Among the contributors was this one dude who'd write heartfelt articles about metal music, and sign them only Demonstealer. How to pay him for published work without a name? Thankfully, he'd included his landline number in his mails. So, someone from JLT called him, and everyone listened in.

Ring Ring! A sweet old lady answered. "Hello, may I speak to... Demonstealer?" "One moment beta. SAAAAHHIIIIL?" Aha!

Sahil Makhija, who features in our cover story, is now also a food critic (@HeadbangerEats). And when Rachel met him at an event in 2023, she finally told him the tale she'd been holdi...